Brooke Tran is currently a Ph.D. student in the Biomedical Sciences program at UCSD, doing her thesis work under Dr. Richard Daneman in the Departments of Neurosciences and Pharmacology.
She graduated from UCLA in 2021 with a B.S. in Biochemistry, where she researched the role of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases in genomic infidelity with Dr. Beth Lazazzera as well as worked with Dr. James Bowie to create biofuels using synthetic biochemistry. She also performed research at Impossible Foods, improving their bioprocessing and genetic engineering to create heme for plant-based meats.
Now, as a member of the Daneman Lab, her current interests are understanding how blood-brain barrier dysfunction affects neuroinflammation and how we may develop new therapeutics that cross the blood-brain barrier to treat neurological disease. From working to combat climate change to understanding the molecular mechanisms behind disease, Brooke aims to always seek the bigger picture and make a lasting impact through her research.